I farm: “I farm in Balderrig Beg, near the Céide fields. It’s mainly boggy hill ground and we’ve always farmed sheep; Dad has been keeping commercial Swaledales for about 25 years, and over the last few years I farmed alongside him.”
Swaledales: “We started our pedigree flock in 2021, after travelling to a sale in Donegal. We were really impressed with the quality of the sheep and said it would be great to establish a pedigree flock of our own. Swaledales are exceptionally hardy, they’re brilliant mothers and they’re very long-lived. We’ve had ewes successfully rearing triplet lambs up to 19 and 20 years of age.”
Association: “We joined the Irish Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association in 2021. There are over 100 members and it’s great to meet other breeders, compare bloodlines and learn from each other. There’s also that bit of healthy competition at the shows throughout the year, which is great.”
Looking ahead: “After Tullamore we’ll be preparing sheep for the Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association show and sale in Ballybofey and Stranorlar Mart in September. We will be bringing our lambs to the sale, and I’ll also be looking to purchase a new stock ram for the flock.
I’d love to see more commercial farmers using Swaledales as crossing sheep. They’re an excellent crossing breed, producing hardy, productive lambs that are well suited to commercial farming systems.”
Favourite part: “What I enjoy most is trying to improve the flock year on year by looking at different bloodlines and breeding better sheep. It’s been a tough year since Dad passed away in February, but the support from the association has meant a lot. Having other breeders to lean on and ask questions to, and just the sense of camaraderie between the group, has been great.”
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